The FMS Inspection Score is FindMySchool's proprietary analysis based on official Ofsted and ISI inspection reports. It converts ratings into a standardised 1–10 scale for fair comparison across all schools in England.
Disclaimer: The FMS Inspection Score is an independent analysis by FindMySchool. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with Ofsted or ISI. Always refer to the official Ofsted or ISI report for the full picture of a school’s inspection outcome.
There is a very deliberate feel to daily life here, routines, language, and expectations are all designed for young children who are just learning how school works. The school’s own framing, “every day is a learning adventure”, shows up in how learning is talked about, with a consistent emphasis on curiosity, confidence, and positive learning habits.
Leadership has recently changed, with Gillian Bryant taking up the headteacher role in September 2024. For families, that is worth noting because many of the school’s published systems, for example learning behaviours, safeguarding curriculum, and wraparound arrangements, are already well documented and easy to understand before you apply.
The tone is set by a simple, child-friendly behaviour code: kind hands, kind feet, kind mouth. It is not presented as a poster slogan, it is explained with examples, modelled in adult language, and used to correct behaviour in ways young children can understand. This matters at infant stage because children are learning self-regulation and classroom habits at the same time as phonics and number. A clear code reduces uncertainty, especially for children who are still building confidence with group routines.
Alongside that, the school uses “learning superheroes” as a shared language for learning behaviours. The named characters map to specific habits, for example Lady Fearless (having a go and seeking challenge), Rosie Resilient (staying focused and persisting), Mr I (independence), Teamwork Twins (collaboration), and Captain Creative (curiosity and problem-solving). The practical implication is that feedback can be framed as “how you learned” rather than only “what you produced”, which is often a better fit for Reception and Key Stage 1.
The school’s published vision also leans heavily into relationships and partnership. It uses three strands, Happy together, Growing together, Aiming high, and explicitly links these to feeling safe, developing life-long learning habits, and maintaining high expectations. For parents, it is helpful that this is spelled out in plain English rather than left implied.
A final, very local element is support for service families. The Mini-Heroes group is described as a pastoral support space for children with a parent in the forces, including opportunities to talk, play, create, and build friendships with others in similar situations. In parts of Hampshire where forces connections are common, that can be a meaningful differentiator for a small child’s sense of security.
As an infant school (Reception to Year 2), the usual headline end-of-primary measures (Key Stage 2 outcomes and primary phase rankings) do not apply in the same way, and nationally comparable public data is more limited at this stage. That makes it more important to look at what is said about curriculum quality, early reading, and how consistently children learn key knowledge over time.
The May 2023 Ofsted inspection confirmed the school continues to be Good. In practical terms, this provides reassurance that, even without a big bundle of public results data, day-to-day education and safeguarding are functioning well for pupils aged 4 to 7.
The school also publishes its overall attendance figure for the most recent academic year as 96.2%. For families with younger children, this is not just a “nice to have”. Strong attendance at infant stage usually suggests pupils feel settled, parents trust routines, and minor issues are being handled before they turn into patterns of reluctance.
Early reading is clearly central. The school describes a systematic synthetic phonics approach using Unlocking Letters and Sounds, with a daily whole-class phonics lesson (described as 15 to 20 minutes) plus repeated application across the day. The daily structure is laid out as Revisit and Review, Teach, Practise, Apply, Revise. The advantage of this kind of explicit structure is that it can reduce variability between classes and help children who need repetition to keep pace.
This is reinforced by the external view of reading provision. The inspection report describes children learning to read from the start of Reception, books matched to sounds, and regular checking of progress with rapid intervention when needed. That combination, a defined scheme plus a clear “check and act” rhythm, is generally what parents want to hear when choosing an infant school, because early reading habits are hard to retrofit later.
Beyond English, the school presents its wider curriculum as well sequenced and vocabulary-aware, with explicit mapping of knowledge, skills, and language across subjects. It also outlines how it assesses pupils, including separate approaches for Reception (Early Years Foundation Stage tracking using Development Matters and early learning goals) and Key Stage 1, with statutory checkpoints such as the phonics screening.
One nuance is worth understanding. External review notes that pupils have not always been helped to make strong links between what they learn and the specific subject they are learning about, which can affect how well knowledge is remembered over time. For parents, the implication is not that the curriculum is weak, it is that the school has identified a “next step” around recall and subject-specific thinking, which is a reasonable improvement focus in an infant setting where children are still learning how to talk about knowledge.
Quality of Education
Good
Behaviour & Attitudes
Good
Personal Development
Good
Leadership & Management
Good
FMS Inspection Score calculated by FindMySchool based on official inspection data.
Because the school ends at Year 2, the key transition is the move into a junior school for Year 3. Hampshire County Council lists Denmead Junior School as a linked school, and notes that attendance at a linked school may assist with priority admission.
For families planning ahead, it is also helpful to understand the county-wide timing for Infant to Junior Transfer. For September 2026 entry, applications open on 1 November 2025 with a deadline of 15 January 2026, and offers are released on 16 April 2026. These dates are set by the local authority rather than the school, but they shape the reality of planning for Year 3.
If you are building a shortlist across both infant and junior phases, the FindMySchool Saved Schools feature is a practical way to keep the infant and linked junior options together, then revisit them once admissions deadlines approach.
This is a state school and Reception entry is coordinated through the local authority. The school’s admissions page links parents to the online application route and also publishes its admissions policies (including the 2026 to 2027 policy).
Demand looks healthy. For the most recent, there were 116 applications for 59 offers for the main Reception route, and the school is marked oversubscribed, with 1.97 applications per offer. The first-preference pressure is also material: the ratio of first preferences to first-preference offers is 1.13, which suggests that, even among families who ranked it first, not everyone could be accommodated.
For September 2026 entry, the local authority’s published main-round timetable is clear: applications open 1 November 2025, close 15 January 2026, and offers are released 16 April 2026. The local authority also lists Year R places for September 2026 as 60.
Tours and visits are handled directly with the school and tend to run in October. The school website published a set of bookable tours in October for “2026 starters”, plus a Stay and Play session in mid-October. Those specific dates have now passed, but the pattern indicates that visits typically cluster in early autumn ahead of the January application deadline.
If you are comparing several nearby schools, FindMySchool’s Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help you sanity-check practical factors, like the admissions authority, age range, and Ofsted status, side-by-side.
Applications
116
Total received
Places Offered
59
Subscription Rate
2.0x
Apps per place
Pastoral care here is designed around two linked ideas: clarity and emotional safety.
Clarity comes from the behaviour code and shared language. The Kindy approach is explicit about what good behaviour looks like, and it uses example phrases that help children connect actions to impact. The learning superheroes serve a similar function in lessons, they normalise persistence, independence, teamwork, and trying something new as part of learning rather than as personality traits.
Emotional safety shows up in the school’s published wellbeing work. The school references a wellbeing provision document and an NHS-backed myHappymind curriculum focused on resilience, self-esteem, and happiness. It also describes weekly personal, social, health, and economic education using Coram Education SCARF materials, connected to a safeguarding curriculum delivered through assemblies and whole-school events.
Service-family support is unusually concrete for an infant school website. Mini-Heroes is described with specific supports, including staff points of contact and a lunchtime meet-up, as well as structured opportunities for children to express emotions around deployment and posting.
Inspectors reported that safeguarding arrangements are effective.
At infant stage, “extracurricular” often means two things: structured clubs for pupils who enjoy routine activities, and leadership roles that help children practise responsibility.
The school describes a broad range of clubs and activities, and also highlights leadership roles such as school council members, play leaders, and eco-warriors. These roles matter because they give small children a concrete job to do, which often supports confidence and behaviour for those who respond well to responsibility.
There are also named after-school clubs on the school calendar, including After School Tennis Club, After School Integr8 Dance Club, CM Sports After School Football Club, and After School Karate Club. For many families, these clubs are as much about logistics as enrichment, they can bridge the gap between the end of the school day and parent working hours while still feeling like a positive part of the child’s week.
Wraparound childcare is provided via a third-party provider offering breakfast and after-school care for Reception to Year 2. The breakfast club hours are published as 7:15am to 8:45am, and after-school sessions run up to 6:00pm depending on the option chosen. The programme description includes play-based areas and activities (for example active games, board games and Lego, reading and relaxation), plus an offer of a sports activity each day for children booked in.
The school day timings are clear. Doors open at 8:40am and the register is taken at 8:50am. The school day ends at 3:05pm, with collection from the classroom door.
Food is straightforward for families to plan around, all children in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 are entitled to universal infant free school meals, and the school names Chartwells as its meals provider.
Uniform expectations are also detailed, including practical items for younger pupils (for example wellingtons for Reception outdoor learning) and clear guidance on footwear and PE kit.
On travel and drop-off, the school points parents to a school crossing patrol resource via its admissions page. For families who plan to walk or scoot, that can be a useful detail to check early, alongside any local parking constraints.
Competition for places. The Reception entry route shows the school as oversubscribed, with 116 applications for 59 offers, so admission is not automatic even for families who rank it highly.
Leadership transition. The current headteacher, Gillian Bryant, started in September 2024. Families who value continuity may want to ask how priorities and staffing are evolving under new leadership.
Knowledge recall as a development point. External review flagged that pupils have not always been supported to make strong subject links that help knowledge stick over time. It is a sensible question for prospective parents to ask how this is being addressed across the wider curriculum.
Wraparound is provider-run. Breakfast and after-school childcare is delivered by an external provider with published hours and session structures. That can be a strength for flexibility, but families may want to clarify booking expectations and how places are prioritised if demand is high.
This is an infant school that puts a lot of effort into making expectations visible to young children, through a simple behaviour code, a shared vocabulary for learning habits, and a clearly structured approach to early reading. External review supports the picture of calm relationships, strong conduct, and a well-sequenced curriculum, with a realistic improvement focus around helping pupils retain subject knowledge over time.
Who it suits: families who want a structured, values-led start to school life, with clear routines, strong early reading practice, and practical wraparound options that extend the day when needed.
It is rated Good and the most recent inspection confirmed it continues to meet that standard. External review notes positive relationships, strong behaviour, and a well sequenced curriculum, with safeguarding arrangements described as effective.
Reception entry is coordinated by Hampshire County Council and the school directs families to the local authority online application route. For September 2026 entry, applications open 1 November 2025 and close 15 January 2026, with offers released on 16 April 2026.
Doors open at 8:40am, the register is at 8:50am, and the school day ends at 3:05pm. Wraparound childcare is available for Reception to Year 2, with breakfast club published as 7:15am to 8:45am and after-school sessions running up to 6:00pm depending on the option.
Pupils typically transfer to a junior school for Year 3. Hampshire County Council lists Denmead Junior School as a linked school and notes that linked-school attendance may help with priority admission. For September 2026 entry, infant-to-junior transfer applications follow the same 1 November to 15 January window, with offers on 16 April 2026.
The school highlights pupil leadership roles (including school council members, play leaders, and eco-warriors) and also lists named clubs such as After School Tennis Club, Integr8 Dance, football, and karate. The school’s learning approach also includes “learning superheroes” that build resilience, independence, collaboration, and creativity as habits for learning.
Get in touch with the school directly
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